18 Apr 2013

Contrary to the perception of many, a career in social media is much more than angling for the perfect Instagram, live-tweeting from big-ticket events, and pinning like crazy on Pinterest.

Working in social media, whether as a community manager, a strategist, or a digital PR manager, and in-house or out of house, has unique challenges. For all those skeptical of the gravity of a full-time career in social media, or looking to get more information on the demands of working in social, keep reading.

1. There is no such thing as “average.” One of the biggest challenges of working in social media is that there is no paved career path ahead of you or behind you. Every brand and business utilizing social media has different goals, tools at their disposal, budgets behind those tools, and expectations of their social media marketing team. Your experiences with every social media campaign and tactic can help inform the next, but they won’t establish a roadmap for you.

Success in a social media career means a lot of innovation and creativity, bolstered by a foundation of experience that unfortunately can’t be used as a safety net. I once had to helm the production of a 101-installment video series, with each video posted daily for 101 days. That experience was very enlightening, and I learned a lot about executing a volume-heavy video campaign across multiple social channels. But, even if I were to be tasked with producing another 101-video series for another client, that initial series would not look anything like the finished product for the second go-round. Social media changes constantly, which means the patterns and behavior of the people using it change constantly, which means best practices change constantly.

2. Efforts must be legitimized through engagement tracking. Those employed in social media must put their money where their clicks are. It’s still hard for a lot of brands and businesses to draw a direct line between social media activity and sales (how much value should be placed on a Facebook “like”? what’s the ROI on a 100% increase in Twitter followers?) – but unfortunately, social media managers have to draw those dots so their employers can connect them. No matter the buzz generated by a social campaign, or the resultant chatter among a brand’s following, if that activity can’t be quantified, the results are basically moot from a client’s perspective.

3. Social media doesn’t sleep. There’s no such thing as 9 to 5, or even 8 to 8, in social media. When you’re catching some shut-eye, your last Facebook post is garnering comments from fans and followers overseas (or those in your same zip code, sleepless). And the longer the lag time between a customer reaching out and you making contact with them, the lower your chances of forging a genuine connection. Obviously, it’s unreasonable to expect social media professionals to be available at the drop of a Twitter RT around the clock, seven days a week. But getting as close to that as possible? Yep, that’s ideal.

4. The industry is ever-changing. Social media as an industry is nothing if not mercurial, with networks gaining and falling in popularity, and new advances breaking through the ranks near-monthly. (Remember when Pinterest was invite-only? When there was no such thing as a Facebook cover photo? When there was only a “retweet” on Twitter, not an “old-style RT”?) Working in social media means staying abreast of the latest and greatest, being able to not only talk about the industry’s new guard, but also incorporate that fresh technology into your practice.